In Mississippi, the Birthplace of the Blues, Gospel is Equally at Home

Charlie Braxton
Jun 10
2 min read

Get to Know the Staple Singers, “God’s Greatest Hitmakers,” in Seven Songs

In 1948, Roebuck “Pops” Staples and his children, Cleotha, Mavis, and Pervis, formed the Staple Singers as a gospel group performing at local churches.

In celebration of Black Music Month this year, we’d like to take a moment to spotlight a selection of artists with Mississippi roots who have significantly enriched the national music landscape. The History Born the youngest of 14 children in Winona, Miss., and reared on a cotton plantation near Drew, Miss., Roebuck “Pops” Staples grew up listening to blues legends like Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, and Son House. Instead of pursuing a career as a blues musician, he chose gospel music. At the tender age of 14, Staples dropped out of school and started singing in a gospel group. He also got married and moved to Chicago, where he worked several manual labor jobs, raised a family and sang gospel with the Trumpet Jubilees.

In 1948, Staples and his children (Cleotha, Mavis, and Pervis) formed the Staple Singers as a gospel group performing at local churches. They begin their recording career in 1950, releasing records for United and Vee Jay labels. Among their early gospel hits were "This May Be the Last Time," released in 1955, and “Uncloudy Day.” Ten years later, rock legends the Rolling Stones covered “This May Be the Last Time” under the title “The Last Time.” In the ‘60s, the Staple Singers released records on Riverside Records and Epic, the label that released their “Freedom Highway” LP, before inking a deal with the iconic Stax Record label.

The Rise At Stax, the Staple Singers’ career sky-rocketed, releasing a string of inspirational hits that consistently made the Billboard Top 40 R&B charts in the 1970s.

In 1975, Stax Records went bankrupt. The Staple Singers signed with Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom label and released the hit single, “Let’s Do It Again,” which was their second number one pop song and the most sensuous tune they ever released. In 1999, the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Today, Mavis, the group’s only surviving member, is still actively performing and recording gospel-tinged inspirational songs in the longstanding tradition of Black gospel music.